Affordable Family Baseball and Fun in Southern Maryland

BLUE CRABS SNAP THEIR EIGHT GAME LOSING STREAK

WALDORF, MD.—Saturday’s lefty-lefty matchup – Long Island’s Darin Downs (6-4, 4.07) vs. Southern Maryland’s Brian Burres (6-4, 2.94) – started out as a close pitcher’s duel. Burres threw six shutout innings, allowing just two hits, striking out seven, and retiring 13 of the last 14 batters he faced. Downs went seven innings, allowing four hits, one run, and striking out four. The Ducks stranded a total of nine men on base, six of whom were in scoring position.

The game was scoreless until the bottom of the fourth when Bryant Nelson led off with a single and reached scoring position by stealing second base. Michael Snyder singled and Zach Wilson flew out to right to bring the run home and give the Blue Crabs a 1-0 lead.

Relief pitcher Navery Moore entered in the seventh inning and quickly found himself in a jam with runners on first and third with one out, but left hander Scott Maine took the mound and left fielder Anthony Vega grounded out to end the inning.

Right hander Craig Stem came in to pitch the eighth inning, and allowed a leadoff double to right fielder Fehlandt Lentini. Two batters later, Stem gave up a walk on four straight balls, first baseman Mark Minicozzi grounded into a 1-6-3 double play to record outs two and three. In the bottom of the frame, D’arby Myers made the score 2-0 and extended his hitting streak to 11 games with a solo home run.

In the top of the ninth, the Ducks threatened with a pair of singles to put runners on first and second with one out. Infielder Ruben Gotay came up to the plate to pinch hit for Carlos Hughes, but grounded into a 4-6-3 double play to strand the runners and give the Blue Crabs the 2-0 win.

Saturday’s win snapped the Blue Crabs’ eight game losing streak, and gave them their first win of the second half. The final game of the series against the Ducks will be Sunday, July 10th at 2:05 at Regency Furniture Stadium. For tickets and information log on to somdbluecrabs.com or call 301-638-9788. The game broadcast will also be available on youtube.com, Southern Maryland Blue Crabs page, and allinbroadcasting.com. It all starts with “Blue Crabs on Deck” at 6:00 P.M. The play-by-play broadcast will begin at 6:35 P.M. with Blue Crabs Broadcaster Jim Tarabocchia.

ABOUT THE SOUTHERN MARYLAND BLUE CRABS: The Blue Crabs play 140 regular season games in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball Clubs. The Blue Crabs play at Regency Furniture Stadium in Waldorf, Maryland with affordable family fun. The franchise opened its ninth season on Thursday April 21st, 2016. Please call 301-638-9788 or visit http://www.somdbluecrabs.com for more information and to reserve your seat at the ballpark today!

ABOUT THE ATLANTIC LEAGUE OF PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL (ALPB):The Atlantic League has been a leader in professional baseball and a gateway to Major League Baseball since 1998. Over 34 million fans have attended Atlantic League games and more than 800 players and 50 managers and coaches have joined MLB organizations directly from the ALPB. The Atlantic League emphasizes winning baseball games, showcasing the talent of top-caliber players and offering affordable family entertainment to metropolitan markets serving nearly 15% of the US population. For more information, please visit www.atlanticleague.com.